A new report from the Urban Institute says that while the D.C. area weathered the late-2000s recession "relatively well," the region still endures a stubbornly high unemployment rate and a poverty rate of about 8 percent. more ›

How was your weekend? Good? Mine was great -- in no small part because finally, almost 11 months after dubbing those who use it "myopic little twits" and inspiring a meme the scope of which we at DCist could only marvel at, Courtland Milloy fulfilled his promise and joined Twitter. more ›

Every single time we read something even moderately related to gentrification in the District, the same topics, theories and names seem to pop up, over and over and over again. So let's have a little fun -- who can get to a bingo in the fewest number of media reports or blog posts? (The recent comments made by Marshall Brown should get you off to a fine good start in each corner.) more ›

UPDATE (5:20 p.m.): According to the Washington Post's Mike DeBonis, Biddle has fired Brown due to the comments he made in Fisher's piece. Biddle's statement regarding the decision: “While change can be difficult and at times uncomfortable, these kinds of comments are hurtful. My wife and I choose to raise our children here because of the diversity the city has to offer. Marshall Brown does not speak for me or my campaign and his comments in Marc Fisher’s story do not help move our city forward. While he is a longtime family friend, I found his comments to be counterproductive at a time when I am working so hard to bring people in this city together, and I have asked him to step down from any future involvement in my campaign.” more ›

American University journalism grad students put together a special edition of their online publication, the American Observer, studying the District in flux called "A City Divided." The edition looks at a D.C. following the mayoral election that many believe showed the biggest divide in the city: between the old-school, perhaps lower income, longer term residents who voted for Vince Gray and the younger, new arrivals with perhaps more progressive, reform-minded ideas who voted for Adrian Fenty. more ›

During my first five years in the District, I lived near the Potomac Avenue Metro station in a neighborhood known as Hill East. Though more modest than Eastern Market, which was only blocks away, the area had a nice mix of new and longtime residents, young and old, and black and white. But like many other "transitional" neighborhoods, Hill East saw its fair share of crime, much of which was discussed, debated and dissected on two extremely active local listservs. The discussions ranged from mere warnings to frustrated demands for more police activity -- and, as I reported here two years ago, even a somewhat outlandish demand that residents march on Potomac Gardens, a housing project located at 13th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue SE, where many local criminals were said to live or seek temporary refuge. more ›

Last spring, we noted that Atlantic business editor Megan McArdlejust could not find a tolerable home in the District on which to spend her federally-subsidized home buyer tax credit! McCardle received a fair amount of criticism from various sources for saying things like there are no Metro stops in Anacostia. (But there is a Ray's the Steaks nearby!) more ›

We've had plenty of heated debates on the issue of gentrification here at DCist, but if we're honest, few of us have likely seen the issue through the eyes of those being gentrified out. And so steps in Chocolate City, a new documentary that attempts to take on the complex issue from the view of residents pushed out in the name of development. more ›

Sure, you picked up a book or two last year. You tore through God Is Not Great, nodding in agreement along the way. You read Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows on the Metro, brandishing the cover proudly and caring little that anyone saw you. You read a lot of graphic novels. And, then, just for grins and giggles, you picked up The Divine Comedy in the original Italian. more ›

Chatty Cathys Warren Rojas of Northern Virginia Magazine was on Rockwell this week shilling his new chat, Grill Warren. Do we not have enough food chats/chogs/Q&As in this town? I guess it's an alternative if you can't get your question answered by one of the three Ts, but this is getting a little out of hand. Or maybe DCist is behind the curve on this one, and we should be starting our own chat. But... more ›

Written by DCist contributor Amy Cavanaugh With all the Smithsonian museums clustered around the mall, it’s easy to overlook the Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum, which has been chronicling the life of the area’s residents since 1967. Their new exhibit, East of the River: Continuity and Change, celebrates 500 years of southeast Washington in a sweeping overview of its triumphs and tragedies. From archaeological artifacts to paintings to documents to video, the multimedia components of East... more ›

Last week was a busy one when it comes to good comments, with thoughtful and funny ones about the Navy Yard Metro, Columbia Heights Day's existence, avatars, and more. And speaking of avatars, why not set up your own? Maybe you can be like monkeyrotica, who was the talk of DCist's commentariat — what's his going to be? Something profane? Something phallic? Mr. Monkey's response was this: For an avatar, I was about to go... more ›

Former Editor-in-Chief Ryan Avent writes a weekly column about neighborhood and development issues. I don’t suppose it would surprise most District residents to hear that there are sharp differences in income between the city’s neighborhoods and racial and ethnic groups. We see it all around us, but especially in those parts of the city where the lives of the haves abut and intermingle with those of the have-nots. These gentrification frontiers are often a locus... more ›

Banner week for SFist as the site's new editor introduced himself -- hooray for Brock! While the NY Times weighed in on SF's mayoral race, only SFist had the (insert tongue firmly into cheek) hard-hitting latest on candidate/activist Josh Wolf. Coverage of a protest vs. gentrification spawned a fantastic debate amongst SFist's readers. Finally, from the sublime to the ridiculous: video of a man that confused a Board of Supes meeting with "open mic... more ›

Former Editor-in-Chief Ryan Avent writes a weekly column about neighborhood and development issues. Over the past few weeks, events have conspired to place race squarely at the center of the debate over public education in the District of Columbia. After appointing Michelle Rhee the first ever Chancellor of District Schools, Mayor Fenty found himself faced with a barrage of criticism and innuendo from the Washington Post drawing attention to the fact that she was not... more ›

It's summer and our beloved Arts Editor is away this week, so the agenda is a little on the short side. Here are a few things to see. >> We have written before about the Washington Project for the Arts\Corcoran's Experimental Media project. Starting this week, WPA\C is hosting a new show called SiteProjects DC. Curator Welmoed Laanstra has asked 15 local artists to create site-specific outdoor artwork, both installations and performances, through July 28,... more ›

Good morning, Washington. With the holiday behind us and temperatures closing in on 90, it now feels solidly like summer, huh? Well, we're glad to have the warm weather. What we're not as glad about is the spike in crime that usually accompanies it. After yesterday's relentlessly depressing conversation about race, gentrification and crime, we're kind of wishing for snow simply to stave off the bitter comment threads that a few bored hooligans can spawn.... more ›

Four properties on 9th St. NW that are owned by Shiloh Baptist Church have been officially condemned by the city. Notices on the buildings indicate the city’s Board for the Condemnation of Insanitary Buildings considers the properties “in such insanitary condition as to endanger the health or the lives of the occupants thereof and/or persons in the vicinity.” Shiloh's vacant properties have been a subject of heated debate within one of the most acrimonious ANCs... more ›

From the front page of this morning's Washington Post, it seems the last person anyone expected to be right about anything, perennial whack-a-doo mayoral candidate Faith, wasn't actually that far off the mark during last year's campaign: Chocolate City is rapidly becoming Vanilla Villa. The District of Columbia will likely no longer be majority-African American within the next 13 years. The 14 percent increase in non-Hispanic white District residents and 6 percent decrease in blacks... more ›

Shaw is officially the nation's second bloggiest neighborhood. That's the pronouncement from outside.in, a Web site which tracks local blogs, news and events in almost every American city. They combined a host of statistics including "total number of posts, total number of local bloggers, number of comments and Technorati ranking for the bloggers" and found the central D.C. 'hood flush with blogs. The area's diverse population, encroaching gentrification and long history provide lots of fodder... more ›

Former Editor-in-Chief Ryan Avent writes a weekly column about neighborhood and development issues. It's nearly two years now since the great Housing Boom of the Aughts© peaked. While prices have leveled off or declined in many places, the affordability of homes in metropolitan areas as an issue has not gone away. In central cities in particular, where the issue of gentrification is most sensitive, prices have shown the most resilience. Certainly, matters haven't changed enough... more ›

Guys, guys, guys. We know you hit up DCist to check out this week's line-up at the Black Cat or the new gossip in the foodie world, but we like to think you love this city more than just for its evening entertainment possibilities and decent grasshopper taco locales. Last week we told you about our team for Servathon 2007, which will be taking part in the volunteer day on May 5. Team DCist will... more ›

So, it seems like George Mason may have used up much of the region's supply of NCAA tourney magic in last year's dramatic run. Of the seven regional teams in this year's tournament, only Georgetown survived the first weekend to make the Sweet 16 – stay tuned to DCist for more hoops coverage as the city unites behind the Hoyas. And before you ask: no, I'm not the least bit bitter about having a bracket... more ›

Last week the City Paper reported on moves to ban the sale of single beers along the up-and-coming H Street stretch in Northeast, part of an attempt to reduce the quality of life crimes, like public urination or disorderly conduct, that seemingly go hand-in-hand with 24-ounce cans of Bud Ice and 40-ounce bottles of Old English Malt Liquor. Of course, the proposal is nothing new -- Mt. Pleasant adopted a similar ban in 2001, and... more ›

Good morning to all of you Washingtonians who, despite being forced to come in today, are honoring Dr. King today through peaceful resistance to actual work. Rather than confronting authority violently, you can make your dissatisfaction known through idleness and websurfing. We'll be right here with you. Then, outside work, maybe do something a little more meaningful to celebrate MLK Day. Guilty of Wrongful Deeds: D.C. police may have ended a rash of brazen break-ins... more ›

Before we begin, we'd like to extend our deepest sympathies to the family of James Kim. We are not, by any means, trying to discount that tragedy by juxtaposing posts about the Kims with more light-hearted posts. It's the nature of doing a compilation such as this one: we're trying to give a full slice of the goings-on in the Ist-a-Verse: the good, the bad, and the ugly. Londonist wants you to know where to... more ›

Written by DCist contributor Spencer Ackerman Never mind the endless D.C. barbeque debate. Neither minds nor palates will ever change in this feud of provincialism. Texans, you might as well stop reading here. For anyone who wants some real, no-nonsense Carolina pork barbeque, however, get out past gentrification's reach and into B & J North Carolina BBQ in LeDroit Park. This, my friends, is as authentic as it gets: you get a nose full of... more ›

Damn alarms. We're a little late on flipping through our newspaper this morning, so stay tuned as we live-blog the news. 9:29 a.m.: Since Adrian Fenty doesn't already have enough to do, he'll be fielding questions in an online chat over at the Post at 11 a.m. We'd like to know how he can spend the time keeping his head so nicely shorn when we're still trying to balance sleep, work, and shaving once... more ›

Good morning, Washington. We apologize: it's not even December, and here we are running pictures of Christmas trees. But everyone else is doing it! More than one area radio station has already switched to 24x7 holiday music, and trees and tinsel are popping up everywhere. It's hard to resist when Flickrites like lancehayden start putting up appealing shots of the yuletide frenzy. Fairfax Restricts Handouts For The Homeless: It's getting tougher to feed the... more ›

Back to the feeding trough, all. After spending a weekend in the beautiful and delicious Bay Area, it's nice to be back to the reality of dirty campaigning, impossible political prognostications, and the constant braying that the turrists are going to blow us up. I wouldn't be here if I didn't love it… Restaurants in Anacostia? Is it time to put a sit down restaurant in the middle of Anacostia? That's the question Washington Business... more ›